Battle Practice
by Alex0007
Summary: Jace and Clary are practicing when Clary gets hurt. Jace and Clary, if you couldn't tell! T 'cause I'm paranoid, and the books are.


Okay, I got this idea a while ago and finally got it down on paper! Read and review please!

DISCLAIMER: I own the whole series!!! … What? I don't? Why wasn't I told!!!! There go all my dreams, floating away in the wind… Darn.

"Again!"

Clary reluctantly stood up and prepared to fight _again_ with Jace, her current tutor for everything relating to fighting.

She drew the sword and Jace charged, running straight for her before turning and swiping from the side. Clary was ready, though. She countered his strike and returned the blow with one of her own, swiping an inch from his head. He ducked and swiped his feet under hers, knocking her off balance and sending her tumbling to the mats that coated the floor.

"I win." Jace smirked and her.

Clary's eyes narrowed. "You did not," she yelled. "You cheated!"

"Never said I could do that."

She paused; she had no come back.

"You've improved a lot, Clary," Alec said, hopping off of the bleachers he and Isabelle had been sitting on. "I think that is enough for today. Let's wrap it up. I'm hungry." At that, he glanced warily at Isabelle, who was jumping off the bleachers, too.

"You'd think I murder people with my cooking," she muttered under her breath.

"Well…" said Jace, who had overheard her. She shot him a glare. "You guys can go. I'm going to fight one more round."

"Are you sure?" Izzy asked, obviously worried about not having a watchful eye over the newbie fighter.

"Do I look unsure?" Jace asked, raising an eyebrow.

Izzy rolled her eyes and left the room, Alec trailing behind her.

Jace charged at Clary, not waiting for her to be ready, and she barely missed the tip of the sharp blade positioned right below her neck. She pinned and tried to get Jace from behind, but he was too fast. He countered and reversed the position. He wrapped an arm protectively around Clary's waist and began to say, "I wi-."

Clary ducked and picked up her sword from where she had dropped it and spun. She had missed Jace by a land slide when he ducked and she struck the bleachers. Her sword stayed there, stuck.

Oblivious to this problem, Jace swung at Clary again, expecting her to block. Unable to defend, she threw her hands up in defense and Jace's blade sank into Clary's forearm about three quarters of an inch in.

Jace gasped in surprise and quickly moved the blade to catch Clary, who, with a cry of pain, had begun to fall to the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" Jace whispered urgently.

Clary nodded, frantically trying to hold back tears. Jace saw through this, though, and pulled out his stele. He drew a healing rune below the wound and she hissed in pain when he brushed the sensitive skin near the cut. A few moments later, only a slight sting was left to remind her of the duel.

He pulled Clary onto his lap and she leaned against his chest. She noticed that her hand and arm were coated in blood. So did Jace.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"It's okay. It was an accident. You didn't mean it," she told him.

Jace stood up and walked Clary to the locker room and helped her wash the blood off of her. Jace also grabbed a wet paper towel before leaving.

"For the sword," he said to Clary, seeing her confusion.

Jace began to wipe the blood off of his sword as Clary tried, and failed, to remove hers from the bleachers. When Jace was done, he put his sword down just in time for Clary's hands to slip and for her to tumble backwards into Jace's lap.

"Can I help you?" he asked, smirking and wrapping an arm around the surprised Clary. The other one reached up and easily plucked the blade from its stand before dropping it and wrapping itself, too, around Clary.

"You could… Oh, I don't know… Let me go?" she suggested as she tried to wriggle free of his unbreakable grip.

"Sorry. Can't do that. Anything else?"

She turned, ready to argue, but his lips were on hers before she could even think of a good come back. Her arms snapped up and circled his neck as his hands tilted her head back to deepen the kiss. Time ceased to exist…

…Until the door opened with a bang. Jace and Clary acknowledged the noise, but clearly chose to ignore it. The intruder cleared their throat. Neither Jace nor Clary made a move to pull away from one another.

"Excuse me?" the voice said.

Jace pulled away for a second, agitated, and said, "You're excused."

Clary looked to see Isabelle, hands on hips, waiting impatiently at the door. She looked irritated.

"Can I help you in any way?" Jace asked.

"Uh, yeah! You've been in here for thirty minutes! What have you been doing?"

Jace raised an eyebrow at her question. "Why do you want to know?"

Izzy opened her mouth, and then closed it. She rolled her eyes and said, "Food," before turning and leaving.

Jace looked back to Clary and whispered, "Now where were we?" before pressing his lips softly against hers. She sighed quietly.

"We should probably go eat…" Clary trailed off, not really wanting to leave. Jace could see this, so he swept Clary up into his arms as he stood up.

"Hey!" Clary cried

Jace lifted her head up and urgently kissed Clary's lips, then gently placed a kiss on her forehead. Then he dropped her.

"_Hey_!" she cried again. "What was that for?!"

"Well, you obviously didn't want to be carried," Jace said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Clary narrowed her eyes… and then grinned deviously. She tackled Jace to the ground. He exhaled, his breath being knocked out of him.

"I win," Clary said in his ear before jumping up and exiting the room hurriedly.


End file.
